In Their Words

Artist of the Year and Best New Artist Nominee Spotlight: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

iHeartRadio Music Awards Artist of the Year nominees Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had an incredible 2013, so it's no wonder that they are nominated for multiple iHeartRadio Music Awards, including Best New Artist AND Artist of the Year! Get to know the guys In Their Words in this iHeartRadio interview that preceded their superstardom.

Seattle-based hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis went from virtually unknown to on everyone's radar when the intelligently crafted video for their song, "Thrift Shop" ft. Wanz, went viral shortly after being uploaded in August 2012.

Two months later, their debut album, The Heist, hit #1 on iTunes within hours of its release. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart and at #1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts. Even more impressive - The Heist was independently recorded, produced, and released (read: no big label, no mainstream promotion to speak of).

To date, the video for "Thrift Shop" has been viewed over 500 million times (and counting), and the song's pithy lyrics can be heard blasting everywhere from your favorite radio station to your hipster friend's iPod. Other notable songs on the album: "Same Love," released in July 2012 in support of gay marriage (before Referendum 74 passed in Washington State), and "Wing$," a song about shoes with much deeper, emotional significance.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis spent some time at the iHeartRadio studios recently, where they let us in on their best thrift shop finds, who they idolized as kids and gave us some insight on their studio debut - all in their own hand-written words.